Method and apparatus for transmitting/receiving link status

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for transmitting/receiving a stored link status are provided where a link status associated with a connection status of a wireless network is stored, and the stored link status is matched to a predetermined link code SO as to generate link information. Thereafter, a frame containing the generated link information is transmitted to one or more stations connected to the wireless network. Accordingly, among a plurality of printers and host computers connected to the wireless network, if there is a printer or a host computer which cannot be connected to the wireless network, a user can determine the reason why. Therefore, the user can constantly recognize determine a link status of the plurality of printers connected to the wireless network, thereby facilitating management of the wireless network.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of KoreanPatent Application No. 10-2006-0065899, filed on Jul. 13, 2006, in theKorean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosure of which ishereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus fortransmitting/receiving a link status.

2. Description of the Related Art

As network environments are becoming more important, not only hostcomputers but also peripheral devices such as printers incorporateinterfaces. However, erroneous conditions relating to a peripheraldevice cannot be easily notified to a user because, unlike a hostcomputer, a peripheral device (for example, a printer) may not include adevice such as a monitor or a keyboard through which input and outputcan be performed. As a result, a problem or a cause thereof that occursaccording to a link status of a station (for example, a printer)connected to a wireless network cannot be recognized by another station(for example, host computer) or by another host computer connected to awired network. Therefore, there is no way for the user to takeappropriate measures to remedy the problem.

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless network formed by a plurality of printingdevices in a local area network (LAN) environment based on the existinginstitute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) 802.11-istandard.

Examples of the wireless network formed by the plurality of printingdevices include a wireless network infrastructure in which communicationis performed around an access point (AP) and an ad-hoc wireless networkin which all devices communicate with one another within a networkenvironment in the absence of a specific AP. Referring to FIG. 1, eachstation uses a wireless network infrastructure. Specifically, a hostpersonal computer 1, a printer 1 and a printer 2 are stations that areconnected through a wireless network, and communicate with one anotherthrough an AP. In these stations, data is transmitted and/or receivedafter a link is formed by using a control frame and a management framein order to participate in the wireless network, according to the IEEE802.11-i standard.

For example, in order to find an available wireless network, a stationbroadcasts a probe request packet, and receives a probe response packetin response thereto. After receiving the probe response packet or only abeacon packet, the station extracts information on the availablewireless network. Specifically, each station transmits a packetcontaining information on an authentication method based on the IEEE802.11-i standard and a packet for requesting connection permission andreceives a corresponding frame, so as to be connected to and be able tocommunicate through the wireless network.

In order for a station to communicate through a wireless network,multiple responses have to be transmitted and received. Specifically, apacket for requesting an available wireless network, a packet forrequesting information on an authentication method, a packet forrequesting connection permission, and so on, are transmitted and allresponses thereto have to be received. If any one of the responses isnot received, the station cannot be connected to the wireless network.In this case, the station cannot be connected to the wireless networkfor various reasons according to a packet type and a process carried outwhen a packet fails to be received. In FIG. 1, if the printer 1 and thehost computer 1 are successfully connected to the wireless network,while the printer 2 cannot be connected to the wireless network, eachstation connected to the wireless network and a host computer 2connected to the wireless network by wire cannot determine which stationis not connected to the wireless network. Furthermore, there is no wayto determine the reason why the station cannot be connected to thewireless network.

FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration of a probe frame to be transmitted onthe basis of the existing IEEE 802.11-I standard. Specifically, a field,200, is assigned with an 802.11 media access control (MAC) header.Another field, 210, is assigned with data that is to be transmitted andanother field, 220, is assigned with a frame check sequence (FCS) so asto check errors. In the field 210, an item identifier, a length of dataand information are repeated and the size of the data is limited so asnot to exceed the size of the field, 210.

FIG. 3 illustrates a list of information describing a definition of eachitem based on the existing IEEE 802.11-I standard. Specifically, eachitem identifier is defined according to its usage, except for reserveditems identifiers 7 to 15, 43 to 47, and 51 to 255 which can be assignedin order to indicate the definitions of data transmission.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method and apparatus fortransmitting/receiving a link status for recognizing link status ofstations connected on the a network.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention address at least theabove problems and/or disadvantages and provide at least the advantagesdescribed below. Accordingly, an aspect of exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention is to provide a method and apparatus fortransmitting/receiving a link status of a plurality of stations in awireless network based on the IEEE 802.11-I standard and generating anintegrated link information table where the generated link informationtable is shared by the stations so that the stations connected to thewireless network can recognize every link information.

Another aspect of exemplary embodiments of the present invention is toprovide a method for transmitting a link status, the method comprisingreceiving a connection status of a wireless network, generating linkinformation by matching the received connection status to apredetermined link code and transmitting a frame containing thegenerated link information to one or more stations connected to thewireless network.

Another aspect of exemplary embodiments of the present invention is toprovide a method for transmitting a link status, the method comprisingclassifying a connection status of a wireless network into all possiblelink statuses and generating respective link codes for the classifiedlink statuses, generating link information by matching the connectionstatus of the wireless network to the generated link codes andtransmitting a frame containing the generated link information to one ormore stations connected to the wireless network.

Another aspect of exemplary embodiments of the present invention is toprovide a method for receiving a link status, the method comprisingreceiving a frame transmitted through a wireless network from one ormore stations connected to the wireless network, extracting a link codecorresponding to the link information contained in the received frameand generating a link information table for each station by using thelink code.

Another aspect of exemplary embodiments of the present invention is toprovide a method of receiving a link status comprising receiving a framethat contains link information and is transmitted through a wirelessnetwork from one or more stations connected to the wireless network,extracting a link code corresponding to link information from thereceived frame and generating a link information table for each stationby using the link code.

Another aspect of exemplary embodiments of the present invention is toprovide an apparatus for transmitting a link status, the apparatuscomprising a link code generator that classifies a connection status ofa wireless network into all possible link statuses and generatesrespective link codes for the classified link statuses, a linkinformation generator that generates link information by matching thelink statuses of the wireless network to the generated link codes and aframe transmitter that transmits a frame containing the generated linkinformation to one or more stations connected to the wireless network.

Another aspect of exemplary embodiments of the present invention is toprovide a method of transmitting/receiving a link status, the methodcomprising receiving a connection status of a wireless network,generating link information by matching the received connection statusto a predetermined link code, transmitting a frame containing thegenerated link information to one or more stations connected to thewireless network, receiving the frame transmitted through the wirelessnetwork from one or more stations connected to the wireless network,extracting a link code corresponding to the link information containedin the received frame and generating a link information table bymatching the extracted link code to each station and by adding awireless link code corresponding to the generated link information.

Another aspect of exemplary embodiments of the present invention is toprovide a computer-readable medium having embodied thereon a computerprogram for executing the above described exemplary methods fortransmitting/receiving a link status.

Another aspect of exemplary embodiments of the present invention is toprovide an apparatus for transmitting/receiving a link status, theapparatus comprising a frame receiver that receives the frametransmitted through the wireless network from one or more stationsconnected to the wireless network, a link information checker thatchecks whether link information is contained in the received frame, alink code extractor that extracts a link code corresponding to the linkinformation if the link information is contained in the received frameand a link information table generator that generates a link informationtable by matching the extracted link code to each station.

Another aspect of exemplary embodiments of the present invention is toprovide an apparatus for transmitting/receiving a connection status, theapparatus comprising a link code generator that classifies a connectionstatus of a wireless network into all possible link statuses andgenerates respective link codes for the classified link statuses, a linkinformation generator that generates link information by matching thelink statuses of the wireless network to the generated link codes, aframe transmitter that transmits a frame containing the generated linkinformation to one or more stations connected to the wireless network, aframe receiver that receives the frame transmitted through the wirelessnetwork from one or more stations connected to the wireless network, alink code extractor that extracts a link code corresponding to linkinformation contained in the received frame and a link information tablegenerator that generates a link information table for each station byusing the link code.

Other objects, advantages and salient features of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with annexed drawings,discloses exemplary embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other exemplary features and advantages of certainexemplary embodiments of the present invention will become more apparentfrom the following description of certain exemplary embodiments thereofwhen taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a wireless network formed by aplurality of printing devices in a local area network (LAN) environmentbased on the existing institute of electrical and electronics engineers(IEEE) 802.11-i standard;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a probe frame to betransmitted on the basis of the existing IEEE 802.11-i standard;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a list of information describing adefinition of each item based on the existing IEEE 802.11-i standard;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of transmitting a linkstatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of receiving a linkstatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an apparatusfor transmitting/receiving a link status according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating link codes generated according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of link informationgenerated according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a link informationtable generated according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a link informationtable updated according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a process of transmitting a linkinformation table to a station connected to one wireless network and astation connected to a separate wired network, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals will be understood torefer to like elements, features and structures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The matters exemplified in this description are provided to assist in acomprehensive understanding of exemplary embodiments of the invention ofthe present disclosed with reference to the accompanying figures.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the exemplary embodiments describedherein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of theclaimed invention. Also, descriptions of well-known functions andconstructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of transmitting a linkstatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Inoperation 400, when a station attempts to be connected through awireless network based on the IEEE 802.11-i standard, all possibleconnection statuses that can be formed when the station is connectedthrough the wireless network are classified into link statuses. Then, alink code is generated by matching a classified link status to acorresponding code value.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating link codes generated according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

According to exemplary embodiments, link statuses represent all possibleconnection statuses that can be formed through the wireless networkconnection based on the IEEE 802.11-i standard. Referring to FIG. 7, alink code 0 indicates that a link is successfully connected. A link code2 indicates that a link connection is continuously being attempted.Although FIG. 7 shows only ten link codes ranging from 0 to 9 as anexample, the number of link codes may be more than that shown in FIG. 7.Also, a link code corresponding to a possible link status may bedifferent from that shown in FIG. 7. For example, although a status inwhich a link is successfully connected is indicated by the link code 0in FIG. 7, this status may be indicated by a link code 1.

Referring to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in operation 410,a station stores a link status associated with a connection status of awireless network that is to be connected. Specifically, when a stationis ready to transmit a link status, the station attempts to be connectedto the wireless network and stores the resultant link status.

In operation 420, link information is generated by matching the storedlink status with the generated stored in operation 410 to the link codegenerated 420 in operation 400. Since all possible connection statusesthat can be generated when a wireless connection is formed are generatedin the form of link codes, 400, the wireless link status stored, 410,always corresponds to any one of the link codes.

FIG. 8 illustrates a configuration of link information generatedaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Since thelink information includes an item identifier of link information, 800, alength of data and a link code, 810, a necessary link code can beextracted from the link information so as to recognize a link status ofanother station. A field, 800, indicates one of a plurality ofidentifiers corresponding to a reserved item contained in an informationlist that shows the definition of each identifier based on the IEEE802.11-i standard as shown in FIG. 3. Additionally, a field 810indicates the link code as illustrated in FIG. 4, generated in operation420. Referring to the exemplary embodiment described FIG. 3, examples ofidentifiers assigned to be reserved include 7 to 15, 43 to 47, and 51 to255 where an identifier 7 may be assigned to the field for itemidentifier of link information 800. If the link code obtained inoperation 420 is the link code 0, then the link code 0 may be assignedto the field 810.

In FIG. 4, in operation 430, the station transmits a frame containinglink information generated in operation 420 through a wireless networkto another station connected to the wireless network. In this case, thetransmitted frame may have the same frame format according to the IEEE802.11-i standard as shown in FIG. 2, where a field 210 in FIG. 2contains the link information identified in FIG. 8 according to theformat ring to the frame format of FIG. 2.

According to an embodiment of the present invention with reference toFIG. 4, a process of generating a link code, 400, is performed prior toa process of storing a link status associated with a connection statusof a wireless network that is to be connected, 410, with the station.However, in certain exemplary embodiments, the link code may bepre-generated and stored in the station such that the process ofgenerating a link code may not be necessary.

Furthermore, since a link status may occasionally be modified in thestation when the link status is modified, operations 410 to 430 may berepeated so as to constantly transmit a latest link status to anotherstation.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of receiving a link statusaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.Specifically, in operation 500, a frame transmitted from one or morestations connected to a wireless network may be received through thewireless network. Any one station may receive a frame transmitted fromanother station because, in a wireless network with a plurality ofstations, each station can communicate with one or more other stationsin the wireless network. Thereafter, whether the link information iscontained in the received frame can be determined in operation 510.

As shown in FIG. 3, according to the current IEEE 802.11-I standard, anidentifier can be designated to be reserved for a particular informationitem. According to an exemplary embodiment, if the received framecontains the identifier designated to be reserved and the containedidentifier corresponds to link information then it can be confirmed thatthe received frame contains the link information. If the received framecontains the link information, the method can extract link codecorresponding to link information in operation 520, otherwise, if thereceived frame does not contain the link information, the methodperforms general instructions contained in the received frame, operation560. Thereafter, a link information table is generated by matching theextracted link code to each station, 530.

As shown in FIG. 8, since the link information includes an itemidentifier of link information, a length of data, and a link code, anecessary link code is extracted from the link information so as torecognize a link status of another station.

FIG. 9 illustrates a configuration of a link information table generatedaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, the link information table can include a stationthat has transmitted a frame, a media access control (MAC) address thatindicates the station that has transmitted a frame, a service setidentifier (SSID) that distinguishes a wireless network through which astation commonly accesses the frame from another wireless network and alink code that indicates a link status. These items of information canbe contained in the frame when transmitted and then the stationreceiving the frame can generate a link information table similar tothat shown in FIG. 9 by matching the link code extracted from thereceived frame to each station.

Referring to FIG. 5, in operation 540, a link status corresponding to alink code is extracted from the link code contained in the generatedlink information table, and the extracted link status is added into thelink code, thereby displaying the link information table. According toexemplary embodiments of the present invention, a user of one stationcan recognize a link status of another station when the link informationtable is displayed.

In operation 560, if the link information is not contained in the framereceived in operation 510 or after the link information table isdisplayed in operation 540, a general instruction contained in thereceived frame is performed 560. According to the IEEE 802.11-hstandard, general instructions contained in the received frame, 560, cancomprise a probe request frame that can be transmitted and received.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention,although in operation 520 it is checked whether the link information iscontained in the received frame, as shown in FIG. 5, if all stationstransmit the frame containing link information, a process of checkingwhether the link information is contained in the received frame may notbe necessary.

In addition, in operation 510, to determining whether link informationis contained in the received frame on one station, link information onother stations connected to the wireless network can be received throughthe wireless network since the frame transmitted from one or morestations is received through a wireless network.

FIG. 10 illustrates a configuration of a link information table updatedaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, which hasa similar configuration as the table of FIG. 9, except that the tableshown in FIG. 10 contains link information from other stations, whereasthe table in FIG. 9 contains link information from only a singlestation. As shown in FIG. 10, all stations connected to the wirelessnetwork can be shown in the form of a single link information table.Although link information of all other stations may be generated bysimultaneously receiving frames from the stations, when it is notreceived simultaneously, the link information may be added to the linkinformation table as the frames are received. In addition to the linkinformation received from other stations, the table shown in FIG. 10 canbe configured to contain self-generated link information. As shown inFIG. 11, a printer 3 is an example of self-generated link information.Furthermore, a station transmits link information by using a framewhenever the link information is modified and a station receiving theframe extracts a link code from the modified frame and updates acorresponding station. Thus, the link information table constantlyindicates a latest link status of each station.

All connected single stations may transmit and/or receive a link statusaccording to exemplary embodiments of the present invention as describedin FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively. For example, the stations connected withthe single station can transmit as well as receive a wireless linkstatus.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an apparatusfor transmitting/receiving a link status according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

An apparatus 600 for transmitting/receiving a link status according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises a framereceiver 610, a link code generator 620, a link information generator630, a frame transmitter 640, a link information checker 650, a linkcode extractor 660, a link code table generator 670, a frame processor680 and a link information table display 690.

Exemplary implementation of the present invention provide a method oftransmitting/receiving a link status will now be described withreference to the apparatus described in FIG. 6. According to an aspectof exemplary embodiments of the present invention for transmitting alink status, a frame transmitter 640 and a frame receiver 610 transmitand receive a frame on a wireless network based on the IEEE 802.11-Istandard. While repeating this process, the frame receiver 610 receivesan overall frame containing link information. The link code generator620 classifies a connection status of the wireless network into allpossible link statuses by using a plurality of received frameinformation, and creates various link codes by matching a link code toeach classified link status. The link code may be included in advance inthe form of data stored in a station, in which case, the link codegenerator 620 may not be necessary.

The frame transmitter 640 transmits the frame through the wirelessnetwork and the frame receiver 610 receives a corresponding frame, sothat a link status associated with a connection status of a wirelessnetwork can be stored. The link information generator 630 generates linkinformation by matching the stored link status to the link codegenerated by the link code generator 620. In this process, an itemidentifier of link information is contained along with the link codebased on the IEEE 802.11-i standard according to the exemplaryconfiguration shown in FIG. 8 of the resultant link information upongeneration by generator 630.

The frame transmitter 640 transmits the frame containing the linkinformation generated by the link information generator 630 to otherstations through the wireless network.

According to another aspect of exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention, when receiving a link status on a wireless network, the framereceiver 610 receives a frame transmitted by other stations connected tothe wireless network. Initially, the link information checker 650 cancheck whether link information is contained in the received frame. Ifthe link information is not contained in the received frame, thereceived frame is transmitted to the frame processor 680 in order toprocess the general content contained in the frame. Otherwise, if thelink information is not contained in the received frame, the receivedframe may be transmitted to the link code extractor 660. The linkinformation checker 650 may be required only when it is not certainwhether the link information is contained in the received frame. Thus,the link information checker 650 may not be required if the linkinformation is always contained in the frame. The link code extractor660 extracts a link code corresponding to link information contained inthe received frame. The link code table generator 670 generates a linkinformation table by matching the extracted link code to each station.The link information table display 690 adds the extracted link statusinto a link information table formed by extracting a link statuscorresponding to a link code so as to display the link informationtable.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention the linkinformation table includes information on a link status of a singlestation and link statuses of all stations connected to one wirelessnetwork as well as information on a self-generated link status, as shownin FIG. 10. Additionally, whenever the link information is modified, themodified information is contained in a frame and then is transmitted toa second station. As a result, the second station receives a framecontaining the modified information table. Accordingly, the linkinformation table is constantly updated to contain the modified linkinformation whenever the frame is received.

The frame receiver 610 may receive a frame containing an instructionthat requests a link information table generated by a second stationconnected to the same wireless network or by a second station connectedby wire. When the frame receiver 610 receives this frame, the frametransmitter 640 transmits the frame containing the generated linkinformation table to the second station connected to the same wirelessnetwork or to the second station connected by wire.

FIG. 11 illustrates a process of transmitting a link information tableto a station connected to one wireless network and a station connectedto a separate wired network according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

The wireless network has a configuration of a wireless networkinfrastructure.

As described with reference to FIG. 10, stations connected to onewireless network according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention generate a link information table in the process oftransmitting/receiving a frame containing link information. When thegenerated link information table is requested by another station, thelink information table is transmitted in response thereto. Thus, eachstation can share the same information table. A station disconnectedfrom the wireless network cannot transmit/receive any data through thewireless network. However, even when a link is not formed, a managementframe can be transmitted and received in a network environment based onthe IEEE 802.11-I standard.

Furthermore, a host personal computer 2 and a host personal computer 3,which are connected by wire through an access point (AP), can requestthe link information table generated according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. In response to the request, astation receiving the request for the link information table transmitsthe requested link information table. Therefore, peripheral devicesconnected to the wired network can receive the link information table asshown in FIG. 11. Moreover, the link information table is transmitted tothe peripheral devices connected to the wired network through an e-mailservice, so that stations connected to the wireless network canrecognize a link status. Although the link information table istransmitted by means of the e-mail service according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention, the present invention is notlimited to the e-mail service but applies to all communication meansthat can transmit the link information table while being connected to aprinter. Other exemplary embodiments of the communication means mayinclude a short message service (SMS), a multimedia messaging system(MMS) and a fax machine.

Accordingly to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,information on a link status may be shown in the form of a single table,wherein the link status indicates a connection status of a plurality ofstations connected to a wireless network and the table can be shared bythe plurality of stations connected to the wireless network. Thus, thereis an advantage in that each station can recognize a status of anotherstation connected to the wireless network. Additionally, information ona link status of a station can be updated whenever the link status ismodified, so that the latest link status can be constantly recognized.In addition, all stations connected to the wireless network can sharethe same information. Thus, there is an advantage in that a user caneasily manage the stations connected to the wireless network.

The above-described exemplary embodiments of an apparatus and method fortransmitting/receiving link status may be recorded in computer-readablemedia including program instructions to implement various operationsembodied by a computer. The media may also include, alone or incombination with the program instructions, data files, data structures,and the like. The media and program instructions may be those speciallydesigned and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, orthey may be of the kind well-known and available to those having skillin the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable mediainclude magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetictape; optical media such as CD ROM disks and DVD; magneto-optical mediasuch as optical disks; and hardware devices that are speciallyconfigured to store and perform program instructions, such as read-onlymemory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, and the like.The media may also be a transmission medium such as optical or metalliclines, wave guides, et and so on, including a carrier wave transmittingsignals specifying the program instructions, data structures, et and soon. Examples of program instructions include both machine code, such asproduced by a compiler, and files containing higher level code that maybe executed by the computer using an interpreter. The described hardwaredevices may be configured to act as one or more software modules inorder to perform the operations of the above-described embodiments ofthe present invention.

While the present invention has been shown and described with referenceto particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted bythe exemplary embodiments but only by the appended claims and theirequivalent. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art canchange or modify the exemplary embodiments without departing from andthe scope and spirit of the present invention.

1. A method for transmitting a link status comprising: receiving aconnection status of a wireless network; generating link information bymatching the received connection status to a link code; and transmittinga frame containing the generated link information to one or morestations connected to the wireless network.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the receiving of the connection status comprises updating theconnection status when the connection status of the wireless network ismodified.
 3. A method for transmitting a link status comprising:classifying a connection status of a wireless network into at least oneof a plurality of link statuses and generating respective link codes forthe classified link statuses; generating link information by matchingconnection statuses of the wireless network to the generated link codes;and transmitting a frame containing the generated link information toone or more stations connected to the wireless network.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the generating of the link information comprisesupdating the link information, when the connection status of thewireless network is modified by matching the modified connection statusto the generated link code.
 5. A method for receiving a link statuscomprising: receiving a frame transmitted through a wireless networkfrom one or more stations connected to the wireless network; extractinga link code corresponding to the link information contained in thereceived frame; and generating a link information table for each stationby using the link code.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprisingdisplaying the generated link table.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein,if the link status of any one of the stations is modified, the receivingof the frame comprises receiving a frame containing the modified linkinformation through the wireless network, and the generating of the linkinformation table comprises updating a link code of a station of which alink status is modified in the link information table into the extractedlink code corresponding to the link information contained in thereceived frame.
 8. The method of claim 5, further comprising: receivinga request for the link information table from a station connected to awired or wireless network; and transmitting the link information tablein response to the request.
 9. An apparatus for transmitting a linkstatus comprising: a link code generator that classifies a connectionstatus of a wireless network into at least one of a plurality of linkstatuses and generates respective link codes for the classified linkstatuses; a link information generator that generates link informationby matching the link statuses of the wireless network to the generatedlink codes; and a frame transmitter that transmits a frame containingthe generated link information to one or more stations connected to thewireless network.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein, if theconnection status of the wireless network is modified, the linkinformation generator updates link information by matching the modifiedconnection status to the generated link code, and the frame transmittertransmits a frame containing the generated link information to one ormore stations connected to the wireless network.
 11. An apparatus forreceiving a link status comprising: a frame receiver that receives theframe transmitted through the wireless network from one or more stationsconnected to the wireless network; a link information checker thatchecks whether link information is contained in the received frame; alink code extractor that extracts a link code corresponding to the linkinformation if the link information is contained in the received frame;and a link information table generator that generates a link informationtable by matching the extracted link code to each station.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 11, further comprising a link information tabledisplay that displays the generated link information table.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 11, wherein, if the link status of any one of thestations is modified, the frame receiver receives a frame containing themodified link information through the wireless network, and the linkstatus display updates a link code of a station, of which a link statusis modified, in the link information table into the extracted link code.14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the frame receiver receives aframe that requests the link information table from a station connectedto a wired or wireless network and the frame transmitter transmits aframe containing the link information table in response to the receivedframe.
 15. A method for transmitting/receiving a link status comprising:receiving a connection status of a wireless network; generating linkinformation by matching the received connection status to a link code;transmitting a frame containing the generated link information to one ormore stations connected to the wireless network; receiving the frametransmitted through the wireless network from one or more stationsconnected to the wireless network; extracting a link code correspondingto the link information contained in the received frame; and generatinga link information table for each station by using the link code.
 16. Anapparatus for transmitting/receiving a connection status comprising: alink code generator that classifies a connection status of a wirelessnetwork into at least one of a plurality of link statuses, and generatesrespective link codes for the classified link statuses; a linkinformation generator that generates link information by matching thelink statuses of the wireless network to the generated link codes; aframe transmitter that transmits a frame containing the generated linkinformation to one or more stations connected to the wireless network; aframe receiver that receives the frame transmitted through the wirelessnetwork from one or more stations connected to the wireless network; alink code extractor that extracts a link code corresponding to linkinformation contained in the received frame; and a link informationtable generator that generates a link information table for each stationby using the link code.
 17. A computer implemented method fortransmitting a link status comprising: receiving a connection status ofa wireless network; generating link information by matching the receivedconnection status to a link code; and transmitting a frame containingthe generated link information to one or more stations connected to thewireless network.
 18. A computer implemented method for transmitting alink status comprising: classifying a connection status of a wirelessnetwork into at least one of a plurality of link statuses, andgenerating respective link codes for the classified link statuses;generating link information by matching a connection statuses of thewireless network to the generated link codes; and transmitting a framecontaining the generated link information to one or more stationsconnected to the wireless network.
 19. A computer implemented method forreceiving a link status comprising: receiving a frame transmittedthrough a wireless network from one or more stations connected to thewireless network; extracting a link code corresponding to the linkinformation contained in the received frame; and generating a linkinformation table for each station by using the link code.
 20. Acomputer implemented method for transmitting/receiving a link status,the method comprising: receiving a connection status of a wirelessnetwork; generating link information by matching the received connectionstatus to a link code; transmitting a frame containing the generatedlink information to one or more stations connected to the wirelessnetwork; receiving the frame transmitted through the wireless networkfrom one or more stations connected to the wireless network; extractinga link code corresponding to the link information contained in thereceived frame; and generating a link information table for each stationby using the link code.